So many notes.
Title: How the World Was Made
Summary: "All that matters is that the sky that keeps going and the barely discernible taste of freedom."
Fandom: Firefly
Word Count: 1000
Rating/Warnings: PG-13, BDM spoilers
Pairing: Mal/Inara, Simon/Kaylee, Jayne/Kaylee
A/N: Originally written for mukashi2's Decalphabet Challenge, easily the most complicated challenge I have ever been in. Ten interconnected drabbles, each based on 1) some myth, legend, or folktale 2) a word starting with the same letter of the alphabet (mine was V). The work is based on Tsalagi (Cherokee) folklore, as recorded by James Mooney. Aside from "Concerning Living Humanity" and "The Lost Cherokee" (which are based on a sacred formula and a bit of oral history, respectively), each drabble is more or less a retelling (sometimes partial) of a Cherokee myth. The ethnography from which I took these myths is public domain and available free here. Phew.
Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine
Vocation
They set down on Osiris just after daybreak, long enough to get their business done, but not long enough to get caught.
“It’s what I’ve always wanted,” Simon told her, but her expression didn’t change. “You can still change your mind. There’s more than enough room for you. Mother said that you could-”
River shook her head. “Just because you get sucked back down to earth doesn’t mean that we all do.”
“Mei-mei,” he said, voice grave. “I need to know you’re okay.”
She laid a kiss on his forehead. “I’m better than okay, but I belong in the black.”
How They Brought Back the Tobacco
Verbatim
“They were all gonna die, you know.”
“Sure.”
“I’m serious. Little old ladies keelin’ over in the streets.”
“Just tell the story.”
“Now the Alliance officer in charge, he don’t believe anybody’s getting away with it. He’s expecting big ships, if anything, so he ain’t watchin’ too close. So we sneak in, smooth as you please, send Jayne down-”
“With just my knife and my da diao-”
“Shut up, Jayne- siphon the leaves right up into the cargo hold, and take off before he could blink. Never saw a thing, and the day was saved.”
“Mal, you’re a terrible liar.”
The Red Man and the Uktena
Vowed
There were Reavers once, when she was very small and the planet was untamed. Her family had hidden in a cave for the longest time, picking them off, until help finally came in the form of the first Alliance soldiers she’d ever seen.
The tallest, strongest one knelt down, brushing the tears off her face. He pressed a shiny new bullet into her hand, telling her that she’d never come to harm as long as she promised to believe.
Not caring if it makes her a traitor, Kaylee clutches it to her breast late at night, knowing there’s safety there.
The Bride from the South
Visitation
Kaylee came to see Simon exactly once after he moved home, and to call it an unmitigated disaster would be an insult to decent, law-abiding unmitigated disasters everywhere.
The grease stains on his mother’s good towels were the beginning, followed hard upon by his father’s supposedly unintentional slighting of Kaylee’s profession at dinner. They made it through to the entrée before Kaylee swore like a sailor, and the evening was rounded out by his mother’s hysterical crying fit over the poor choices of her little boy.
When Kaylee told Simon it was over, he couldn’t choose between crying and rejoicing.
Concerning Living Humanity
Vignette
When they’d gotten married, Wash’d only promised her one thing- that he would never, ever let her be lonely- and that was what Zoe missed most of all.
Mal went to sleep alone again, locking his door so he wouldn’t be tempted, as if his pride wouldn’t stop him.
All night, Jayne stayed up trying to figure out what to say to Kaylee to make her see, repeating the words over and over so he’d remember.
“We dwell in the blue house,” River chanted, dancing lightly down the floor, listening to all of them. “Bring us to the white road.”
The First Fire
Vox populi
The next order of business was to rebuild theirs.
It was not without some trepidation that Zoe and Mal found themselves in front of the supposed crime boss of Persephone.
“So these are the heroes who brought the truth to the people,” the pompous little man said mockingly. “This is quite an occasion.”
Mal refused to look anywhere except straight ahead. “I ain’t here to put on airs.”
“Don’t you get it?” he said, laughing. “You’re marked forever. I can charge double just for the privilege.”
Losing the job was worth the look on his face when they walked away.
The Rabbit and the Tar Wolf
Verdict
“Malcolm Reynolds, for the crimes of trespassing, public indecency, attempted larceny, and resisting arrest, this court finds you guilty. I hereby order you released under the supervision of Miss Inara Serra-”
“No, anything but that-” he started, over the judge’s words. The old man glared at him before starting again.
“At the leisure of the Guild. Dismissed.”
Mal struggled against the officers trying to carrying him, finally having to be dragged kicking to the shuttle.
“Why does that always work?” Mal asked as the door shut, holding up his cuffs. “Little help?”
She ignored him and went on with take-off.
Origin of Strawberries
Votive
Mal knew it was serious when dinner was suddenly full of fruit.
“What the hell is this?” he asked, picking at something in a suspicious blue color.
“It’s huckleberry pie,” Kaylee said angrily, slamming it onto Zoe’s plate. The fact that Jayne turned away when she got to him wasn’t lost on Mal.
He should have been expecting it when he turned a corner and found Jayne on his knees, holding up a little red fruit like an offering.
“Aw, hell, Jayne,” she said, pulling him up and kissing him on the cheek. “I never could stay mad at you.”
What the Stars Are Like
Veneer
River saw him again, long after the fact, on a godforsaken border moon. He hadn’t changed much, except for the shepherd’s weeds. She sat next to him in silence, because there was nothing to be said.
Because this was not the bar for quiet reflection, it wasn’t an hour before someone decided they made a fine target.
His friends dragged him away not a minute later, still muttering to one another about how it must have been a trap.
“Nature will always out, unfortunately,” he said sadly, leaving a coin on the bar and walking out into the dusty road.
The Lost Cherokee
Volition
So little by little they keep pushing out into the black. The worlds keep getting more and more civilized, and it just chafes. The big shiny planets don’t take kindly to the heavily armed, begrudge a man a fair fight, and are all too new to be fixed- there are, however, plenty of lonely rich men, but Inara knows why she stays.
Little by little they become the people they look like, all unpolished and wild and supposedly backward. But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that the sky that keeps going and the barely discernible taste of freedom.
Summary: "All that matters is that the sky that keeps going and the barely discernible taste of freedom."
Fandom: Firefly
Word Count: 1000
Rating/Warnings: PG-13, BDM spoilers
Pairing: Mal/Inara, Simon/Kaylee, Jayne/Kaylee
A/N: Originally written for mukashi2's Decalphabet Challenge, easily the most complicated challenge I have ever been in. Ten interconnected drabbles, each based on 1) some myth, legend, or folktale 2) a word starting with the same letter of the alphabet (mine was V). The work is based on Tsalagi (Cherokee) folklore, as recorded by James Mooney. Aside from "Concerning Living Humanity" and "The Lost Cherokee" (which are based on a sacred formula and a bit of oral history, respectively), each drabble is more or less a retelling (sometimes partial) of a Cherokee myth. The ethnography from which I took these myths is public domain and available free here. Phew.
Origin of the Pleiades and the Pine
Vocation
They set down on Osiris just after daybreak, long enough to get their business done, but not long enough to get caught.
“It’s what I’ve always wanted,” Simon told her, but her expression didn’t change. “You can still change your mind. There’s more than enough room for you. Mother said that you could-”
River shook her head. “Just because you get sucked back down to earth doesn’t mean that we all do.”
“Mei-mei,” he said, voice grave. “I need to know you’re okay.”
She laid a kiss on his forehead. “I’m better than okay, but I belong in the black.”
How They Brought Back the Tobacco
Verbatim
“They were all gonna die, you know.”
“Sure.”
“I’m serious. Little old ladies keelin’ over in the streets.”
“Just tell the story.”
“Now the Alliance officer in charge, he don’t believe anybody’s getting away with it. He’s expecting big ships, if anything, so he ain’t watchin’ too close. So we sneak in, smooth as you please, send Jayne down-”
“With just my knife and my da diao-”
“Shut up, Jayne- siphon the leaves right up into the cargo hold, and take off before he could blink. Never saw a thing, and the day was saved.”
“Mal, you’re a terrible liar.”
The Red Man and the Uktena
Vowed
There were Reavers once, when she was very small and the planet was untamed. Her family had hidden in a cave for the longest time, picking them off, until help finally came in the form of the first Alliance soldiers she’d ever seen.
The tallest, strongest one knelt down, brushing the tears off her face. He pressed a shiny new bullet into her hand, telling her that she’d never come to harm as long as she promised to believe.
Not caring if it makes her a traitor, Kaylee clutches it to her breast late at night, knowing there’s safety there.
The Bride from the South
Visitation
Kaylee came to see Simon exactly once after he moved home, and to call it an unmitigated disaster would be an insult to decent, law-abiding unmitigated disasters everywhere.
The grease stains on his mother’s good towels were the beginning, followed hard upon by his father’s supposedly unintentional slighting of Kaylee’s profession at dinner. They made it through to the entrée before Kaylee swore like a sailor, and the evening was rounded out by his mother’s hysterical crying fit over the poor choices of her little boy.
When Kaylee told Simon it was over, he couldn’t choose between crying and rejoicing.
Concerning Living Humanity
Vignette
When they’d gotten married, Wash’d only promised her one thing- that he would never, ever let her be lonely- and that was what Zoe missed most of all.
Mal went to sleep alone again, locking his door so he wouldn’t be tempted, as if his pride wouldn’t stop him.
All night, Jayne stayed up trying to figure out what to say to Kaylee to make her see, repeating the words over and over so he’d remember.
“We dwell in the blue house,” River chanted, dancing lightly down the floor, listening to all of them. “Bring us to the white road.”
The First Fire
Vox populi
The next order of business was to rebuild theirs.
It was not without some trepidation that Zoe and Mal found themselves in front of the supposed crime boss of Persephone.
“So these are the heroes who brought the truth to the people,” the pompous little man said mockingly. “This is quite an occasion.”
Mal refused to look anywhere except straight ahead. “I ain’t here to put on airs.”
“Don’t you get it?” he said, laughing. “You’re marked forever. I can charge double just for the privilege.”
Losing the job was worth the look on his face when they walked away.
The Rabbit and the Tar Wolf
Verdict
“Malcolm Reynolds, for the crimes of trespassing, public indecency, attempted larceny, and resisting arrest, this court finds you guilty. I hereby order you released under the supervision of Miss Inara Serra-”
“No, anything but that-” he started, over the judge’s words. The old man glared at him before starting again.
“At the leisure of the Guild. Dismissed.”
Mal struggled against the officers trying to carrying him, finally having to be dragged kicking to the shuttle.
“Why does that always work?” Mal asked as the door shut, holding up his cuffs. “Little help?”
She ignored him and went on with take-off.
Origin of Strawberries
Votive
Mal knew it was serious when dinner was suddenly full of fruit.
“What the hell is this?” he asked, picking at something in a suspicious blue color.
“It’s huckleberry pie,” Kaylee said angrily, slamming it onto Zoe’s plate. The fact that Jayne turned away when she got to him wasn’t lost on Mal.
He should have been expecting it when he turned a corner and found Jayne on his knees, holding up a little red fruit like an offering.
“Aw, hell, Jayne,” she said, pulling him up and kissing him on the cheek. “I never could stay mad at you.”
What the Stars Are Like
Veneer
River saw him again, long after the fact, on a godforsaken border moon. He hadn’t changed much, except for the shepherd’s weeds. She sat next to him in silence, because there was nothing to be said.
Because this was not the bar for quiet reflection, it wasn’t an hour before someone decided they made a fine target.
His friends dragged him away not a minute later, still muttering to one another about how it must have been a trap.
“Nature will always out, unfortunately,” he said sadly, leaving a coin on the bar and walking out into the dusty road.
The Lost Cherokee
Volition
So little by little they keep pushing out into the black. The worlds keep getting more and more civilized, and it just chafes. The big shiny planets don’t take kindly to the heavily armed, begrudge a man a fair fight, and are all too new to be fixed- there are, however, plenty of lonely rich men, but Inara knows why she stays.
Little by little they become the people they look like, all unpolished and wild and supposedly backward. But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that the sky that keeps going and the barely discernible taste of freedom.